


A Family of Nine

by snowflakesautumnleaves



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Angst, Bang Chan & Lee Felix are Siblings, Chan and Felix's parents are ASSHOLES, Chan wants Felix to be happy, Child Abuse, Crying, Dancer Lee Felix (Stray Kids), Dancer Lee Minho | Lee Know, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Language Barrier, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Panic Attacks, Self-Doubt, Self-Esteem Issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-12
Updated: 2019-12-03
Packaged: 2021-01-29 01:49:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21402181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snowflakesautumnleaves/pseuds/snowflakesautumnleaves
Summary: At the age of fourteen, Christopher Bang fled Australia to escape his abusive parents and to follow his dreams. Five years later, working as a music producer for JYPE in Korea, he received a call from a social worker in Australia. His parents are dead and his sixteen-year-old brother Felix needs somewhere to stay.Felix endured more abuse from his rich, image-obsessed parents than either he or Chan thought possible after the elder moved to Korea. Now joining his brother, Felix has to adapt to a world that is completely different from the one he left behind in Australia while trying to hide the extent of their parent's abuse from his brother and help him make ends meet.Luckily for Felix, he becomes apart of a brand new family of boys ready to help get him through his new life.
Relationships: Bang Chan/Kim Woojin, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added
Comments: 10
Kudos: 170





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first Stray Kids fic! I have a few chapters planned out already so I hope to update weekly (no promises). Trigger warnings will be posted at the beginning of chapters. I hope you enjoy!

Rain pounded down against the side of the apartment, leaving small water droplets running down the bathroom window Chan looked out of. Shades of grey had been painting the normally blue sky for days but the rain only started a few minutes ago.

Chan sighed as he walked away from the window and towards the sink, pick up his toothbrush. He had hoped the clouds would disperse before the rain they contained had a chance to fall. He did not want to walk to work in the storm that was raging outside. 

He watched himself in the mirror as he brushed his teeth, getting ready for another day at the studio. He started working as a producer for JYP Entertainment a little over a year ago- just after his eighteenth birthday. He was beyond lucky that they hired him right out of high school. He sent a couple of his best tracks to the company on a whim when he heard they were looking for a producer, not expecting to get any kind of response considering he did not have any formal music education. But, the company was impressed with his music and, after having him produce a few more tracks as a trial, hired him. Now, at nineteen, he had his own apartment that he shared with his high school boyfriend, Woojin.

“Hey, Chan!” Woojin called from another room. “Your phone is ringing!”

Chan spit the water and toothpaste in his mouth into the sink. “Who is it?” He yelled back.

Woojin walked up to the bathroom door, which Chan had left open, holding Chan’s phone. “It’s just some random number- wait it’s from Australia.”

Chan’s breathing hitched and he felt his muscles tense. 

_ Australia.  _ The place that was once Chan’s home. The place he fled five years ago. The only contact he still had with the country was a weekly call with his younger brother, Felix. But he had Felix’s number saved. No one else would be calling him from there. Unless…

“Shit! ‘Jinnie gimme the phone!” He scrambled over to Woojin, throwing his toothbrush into the sink and practically ripping the phone out of his boyfriend’s hands.

He answered and put the phone to his ear. “Hello?” he said in English.

_ “Is this Christopher Bang?”  _ A woman on the other side of the phone asked.

“Yes, that’s me. May I ask who’s calling?”

“My name is Cathrine Smith. I’m a social worker covering the case of Felix Lee.”

Chan’s face paled. Social worker? Just how bad have things gotten since he left? 

_ “Sir are you still there?” _

“Yes, yes I’m here,” Chan said hurriedly, snapping back into reality. “You said you’re a social worker? For my brother Felix?” Woojin’s eyebrows raised when he heard Felix’s name, his face plastered in concern at the shakiness of Chan’s voice.

_ “Yes. After the accident that happened over the weekend, Felix was placed in a temporary foster home while I worked on locating his family. You were all I was able to find.” _

Chan’s heart sunk. “Accident? What accident?”

_ “I- Were you not aware?”  _ She sounded genuinely concerned. “ _ The house your parents and brother lived in caught fire. Felix was the only one to make it out. I’m sorry.” _

“They’re dead? My parents?” Chan asked quietly. 

“Holy shit,” Woojin whispered, eyes widening.

_ “I’m sorry for your loss. I thought you would have already known, it’s been a few days…” _ Cathrine paused for a moment.  _ “We do need to speak about the placement of Felix, though. I’d like to keep him out of the system and with family and it appears you’re all he has.” _

“Yeah, of course I’ll take him. We don’t have any other family.” Chan’s said in a firm voice.

“ _ While I admire your eagerness, Chris, are you sure you want to do this? You’re nineteen and living in another country. You will be financially responsible for your brother. Are you sure you’re willing to take on guardianship of Felix?” _

“Yes, I’m sure,” Chan spat out harsher than intended. Felix was his brother, dammit, he was not about to just leave him on his own. Not again.

The social worker sighed.  _ “Okay. There will be paperwork that you need to fill out. I’ll be in contact with social services in South Korea. They’ll be handling the case from then on. I’ll get back to you when I know more details about getting Felix to you. Again, I’m sorry for your loss. Goodbye.”  _ The social worker hung up.

Chan placed his phone on the edge of the sink. He let out a long breath, ran his hands through his hair, and sunk to the floor, his head leaning against the wall. He stared out in front of him.

“Chan-ah?” Woojin began softly, crouching down to join him on the floor. “What’s going on?”

Chan turned his head to look at Woojin, tears in his eyes. “I’m getting custody of ‘Lix. Our parents are dead. Fire.” Suddenly, Chan’s eyes widened. “Fuck I gotta call ‘Lix.” Chan scrambled to get off the floor but was stopped by Woojin placing his hands on his shoulders.

“Whoa, Chan, take a minute. This is shocking news, let yourself process it." Woojin hesitated before continuing. "How- how do you feel? About your parents?”

Chan had told Woojin everything about his parents when they were fourteen. Chan had just moved to Korea, on his own, to study in a Korean high school. He was having a breakdown in the bathroom when they met. Everything was so drastically different from Australia and it became too much for him. He missed his little brother and felt unbelievably guilty for leaving him behind. Woojin found him desperately trying to wipe away never-ending tears from his checks. He comforted him and Chan, having never had anyone to talk to, spilled everything. He told him the real reason he came to Korea: His shitty, snobby, rich-ass-hell parents. The bruises that never left his and his brother’s bodies and his parents' plan for him to take over their company and never live a life of his own. He didn’t have a choice in leaving. He had to get out.

Ever since that day, the two had been inseparable. Woojin decided then that he could not and would not let Chan be alone any longer.

“I-I don’t know.” Chan ran his hands through his hair. “I always wanted them dead growing up but it’s been so long...I don’t know how I feel.”

Woojin gave him a sympathetic smile and handed Chan his phone. “That’s okay. You don’t need to know. Take a breath and call Felix. Make sure he’s alright. I’m worried that he hasn’t called you yet.”

Woojin has never met Felix but from all the phone calls and video chats the boy had with Chan, he had grown quite attached.

“So am I,” Chan said, turning his phone on and searching for his brother’s contact, clicking on it when he found it.

Felix picked up on the second ring.

_ “Chan!?” _ he exclaimed.

“‘Lixie are you alright? I heard about the fire.” Chan rushed out.

_ “Oh, Chan it’s so nice to hear your voice,”  _ the younger began, smile evident in his voice.  _ “I’m fine. I was in the fire but I just got a couple minor burns. Nothing I can’t handle. I take it Cathrine called you?” _

Chan sighed in relief at hearing his brother was okay. “Yeah, she did. She’s getting in touch with social services over here. You’re going to come stay with me.”

Felix was silent for a moment. _ “Chan, Are you sure? You’re barely an adult… You finally got your life sorted in Korea. I don’t want to burden- _ ”

Chan cut him off. “Felix listen to me. You aren’t a burden, mate. You’re my little brother and I love you. I want to do this.”

_ “I- Okay. As long as you’re sure. I love you too Chan. I have to go, the family I’m staying with is calling me for breakfast. We’ll talk soon?” _

“Of course, Lixie. I’ll call you as soon as I know more. Talk to you soon.”

Chan put his phone on the floor and tilted his head back so that he was staring at the ceiling. “Shit…” he breathed out.

“Hey.” Woojin wrapped his arms around Chan. “It’ll be okay.”

Chan did not respond. He stayed sitting on the floor, falling into Woojin’s comforting touch. 

After a while, he said, “I’m gonna call into work. We need to seriously clean the apartment before Felix gets here.”

Their apartment wasn’t intentionally messy but with Chan having a full-time job and Woojin being in college and working part-time at a café, they struggled to keep their place clean.

Woojin giggle stood up, holding out a hand to help Chan up. “Yeah, I guess you're right. Come on, let’s get started.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tw//implied abuse/evidence of past abuse

Felix was, in the simplest terms, terrified.

He stood in the airport with his black, raggedy backpack slung over one shoulder, shivering. His tee-shirt that practically hung off his frame did little to protect him from the freezing air conditioning of the building. He stood up on his toes, desperately searching for his brother in the bustling crowd of people around him. He hadn’t seen Chan in person since the day the older boy left for Korea five years ago.

On that day, Chan looked painfully similar to how Felix looked now, sporting a bruised cheek and a single backpack that carried all of his possessions. He was a pitiful sight standing in front of Felix. 

_ His older brother looked at him with tears running down his face. His hair was disheveled; Felix knew it was from Chan running his fingers through it. He always did that when he was anxious or stressed, something he seemed to be doing endlessly as of late. _

_ Without warning, Chan took a step towards Felix and wrapped his arms around the younger. “I’m sorry Lix. I’m so sorry to leave you here,” he sobbed. The guilt of leaving was eating Chan alive. He didn’t want to leave his little brother alone. Not with  _ them.

_ Felix, however, did not understand his brother’s remorse. He squirmed out of his brother’s hold, put his hands on his hips, and stood with confidence and a smile that, while missing some teeth, stretched from ear to ear. It had a touch of untainted, childhood innocence to it. “Channie, don’t be sad!” Felix exclaimed. “You’re starting a new life in Korea! You’re going to get to do whatever you want to! You won’t have to follow mom and dad’s stupid plan for you anymore. Be happy!” _

_ Chan let out a laugh that was definitely mostly a sob and wiped his eyes with his sleeve. After everything they had been through the Felix was still so innocent. Their parents had yet to break his kind, selfless nature. He wasn’t even thinking about the consequences that Chan leaving would have on him. “‘Lixie… “ Chan began. “Shit, ‘Lix what about you? What are they going to do to you without me here? I can’t just leave you here I can’t-” _

_ Felix’s smile became softer as he processed his brother’s words. He knew his parents were far crueler to Chan than they were to him. Chan was the oldest- the family legacy. He was the boy meant to take over the company, meant to be the picture-perfect child who never did any wrong. Their parents saw to it that he always obeyed every order they gave him. To them, he was the child any rich businessman would want as a son. _

_ But Felix knew the truth. _

_ Chan had dreams. Dreams that had nothing to do with taking over their parent’s company. Chan had dreams of making music. Dreams that, over the past two years, he had been sneaking out every night to pursue. Dreams that got him accepted into an arts high school in South Korea without their parent’s knowledge. _

_ Felix did not want Chan to leave him. He wanted his big brother to be there to hold him when he cried, to sing him to sleep when he woke up from nightmares, to ice the bruises that their father left littered all over his body. But this was Chan’s dream, and there was no way Felix would prevent him from chasing it. _

_ Chan needed to leave. And Felix would make sure that he did.  _

_ “I’ll be fine, Chan,” Felix began, still smiling but with a slight waiver in his voice. “Please go. Please. This is what you want, it’s what you need. I promise I’ll be okay. I promise I’ll survive.” _

_ More tears fell from Chan’s eyes. He pulled Felix back into a hug and rested his chin atop the younger’s head. He squeezed him as though if he let go, it would be for the last time. Chan whispered with a shaking voice, “Always find me, yeah? If anything happens, please. I’m not going to leave you behind. I’ll come back for you.” _

Felix let out a long exhale as the memory washed over him. So much had changed in the years since Chan left, and not for the better. Their father did not take too kindly to his eldest son’s disappearing act and the fact that Felix refused to utter a word about his location only infuriated him further. The beatings he used to endure suddenly worsened more than Felix ever imagined they would. Scrapes and bruises turned into gashes and broken bones, concussions and hospitalizations. His father also, after realizing that Chan was not coming back, thrust all of his old responsibilities onto Felix. He tried to bend Felix into a cookie-cutter child, perfect for serving the needs of his parents and their company, nothing else. 

Felix never fit into that mold. He frequently disobeyed and during the years Chan was gone, Felix found himself constantly teetering on the edge of having to break the last promise he made to his brother.

Felix was snapped out of his thoughts by the sound of his brother’s voice and whipped his head around to try to find it. “Felix! Felix!” the older boy shouted. Chan and Woojin were running towards him, smiling.

The second they reached him, Chan wrapped his arms around his younger brother so tight Felix almost cried out in pain. Chan was all muscle and Felix’s ribs were bruised, possibly broken. Chan’s death grip made him want to scream. To surprise it, he bit into his lip hard enough to taste blood.

“Hey, Channie…” he breathed out, trying to mask the pain in his voice.

Chan released him and took a step back to look at him. His eyes filled with tears as they darted up and down his body, taking in his little brother’s disheveled appearance. Felix knew he looked like hell. He had a black eye, a split lip, and miscellaneous bruises and gashes on scattered his face. He expected Chan to comment on it, to panic and fret over him like he did when they were kids, but all Chan said was, “I can’t believe you’re the same height as me. You’ve grown so much,” his voice breaking.

Woojin placed a comforting hand on Chan’s shoulder.

Felix laughed. “Yeah, well, it has been a while. I was still a kid the last time you saw me.”

Chan scoffed. “You’re what? Sixteen? You’re still a kid in my eyes. My baby brother.” Chan went to pinch his cheeks, a playful smile on his face.

Felix swatted his hand away. “Oi! Keep your filthy hands away from my face!”

The three of them broke out in laughter as Chan cashes Felix around trying to pinch his cheeks. They did not stop until Woojin, between laughs, suggested they start heading home before it got dark.

* * *

The three of them piled onto the crowded train that would take them to the outskirts of Seoul. It took a while but they managed to find three empty seats next to each other. Once they were sitting, Felix let his head fall onto Chan’s shoulder and closed his eyes, falling asleep almost instantly. When Chan realized what had happened, he felt his heart swell in his chest. Felix used to fall asleep on him all the time when they were kids, always mumbling something about Chan making him feel safe.

Woojin glanced over at the two brothers. “Is he actually asleep already?” He whispered to Chan.

Chan made an affirmative noise, a sad smile appearing on his face. “I can’t even imagine how exhausted he must be right now.”

Chan noticed it when he took in Felix’s appearance at the airport. He boy had bags under his eyes so intense it looked as though he had not slept in days. The black and purple bruises that littered his face and the way his clothes were practically hanging off of him only increased Chan’s worry. He tended up when Chan hugged him and Chan was sure he heard him whimper. Was he hiding more bruises under his clothes?

“Is...Is he all right, Chan?” Woojin asked apprehensively, eyeing the boy’s injuries. 

Chan ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “I don’t know, ‘Jinnie. I don’t know.”

* * *

They decided it would be best to let Felix rest, so when the train reached their stop, Woojin helped position the sleeping boy on Chan’s back so he could carry him the rest of the way home.

Both noticed how feather-light he was and how his bones stuck out through the fabric of his clothes, sharp and painful to touch. Neither wanted to comment on it.

They arrived at their apartment and, after hauling Felix up a few flights of stairs, and into the old guest room that would now be Felix’s, Chan gently placed Felix on his bed and pulled the covers over the boy who had yet to stir.

“‘Night, ‘Lixie,” Chan murmured, brushing a few strands of hair out of the younger boy’s face.

Woojin set his backpack down on the dresser across from the bed and watched his boyfriend care for his sleeping brother with a smile on his face.

The two left the room and Chan closed the door as quietly as possible. Once they were in the living room- safely out of earshot of Felix- Woojin began expressing his concerns about him, worry in his eyes. “His bag is so light, Chan...I don’t think there’s anything more than a couple sets of clothes in there. And he’s-“

“-Too light too,” Chan finished bitterly. He ran his hands through his hair and pulled at it, sighed in frustration. “I know. What the fuck happened to him?”

“I mean, your parents were complete assholes. I figured that he came out of there worse for wear.”

“I expected bruises,” Chan retorted sharply, his anger rising. “I expected him to come here with barely anything to his name.” He turned to face Woojin. “I wasn’t expecting him to look like a fucking skeleton! For his eyes to look so dull and lifeless and...Fuck!” Tears filled his eyes and rolled down his face.

What happened to Felix? To his little ‘Lixie? The boy at the airport was nothing like the kid Chan remembered. Felix was always energetic, hopeful, and with a smile that could light up a room. But the Felix he saw today was cold and lifeless. Even when they were playing around it was not like Chan remembered. Felix had never looked like this- not once over the hundreds of video chats they had over the years. Had he been faking it the whole time? How had he hidden his appearance so well?

Woojin took a step towards Chan and pulled his boyfriend into his arms. “Shh,” he began. “You’ll wake Felix.”

Chan tucked his head in the crook of Woojin’s neck and let out a muffled sob.

The past few days had been fucking terrible for Chan. His parents were. His brother was broken and he has no idea how to fix him. And now he’s days behind in who-knows-how-many tracks he was meant to be producing. He was fucking exhausted.

“You’re okay. Felix is going to be okay. You’re okay, Channie,” Woojin soothed. “Go lay down, you need sleep. I’m going to go quickly whip up something for dinner in case either of you wakes up tonight wanting proper food.”

Chan detached himself from his boyfriend with puffy eyes and a small smile on his face. Woojin always knew how to make him feel better. “Thank you, ‘Jinnie.”

* * *

Felix woke up to, for what was the first time in his life, silence. There was no alarm blaring next to his ear, no one yelling at him to get his ass out of bed. There was just what sounded like sizzling coming from outside the room.

He sat up, dazed, and looked around, trying to figure out where he was. The room was bare, just a bed, desk, and dresser making up the furniture. Everything, from the walls to the furniture was some shade of tan or off white. Everything except his black backpack that was resting on the dresser-

_ Oh. This must be Chan’s apartment. _ He realized.

The memories from the previous day came flooding back to him. The airport, Chan and Woojin, falling asleep on his brother as if he were seven years old again.

_ Chan must have carried me here _ , he thought, a small smile appearing on his face. 

He stood and made the bed before leaving the room to investigate the sizzling sound he could hear. He followed it to the kitchen where Woojin stood in front of the stove, holding the handle to a black frying-pan filled with bacon.

Chan sat at the table adjacent to the kitchen. His face was scrunched up in annoyance as he typed furiously on his laptop with papers spread out in front of him and headphones covering his ears.

Felix stepped into the kitchen, causing a floorboard beneath him to creak. He immediately pulled his leg back up and took a quick step back, breathing quickening, as Woojin turned to investigate the source of the noise. “Felix-ah!” he exclaimed with a smile. “Good morning!” 

Felix put his foot back down and leveled his breathing. It was okay. It was just Woojin. Woojin was not going to be mad at him.

He internally sighed in relief from hearing Woojin greet him in English rather than Korean. Felix only knew a handful of words in Korean and definitely would not have been able to understand him otherwise.

“Good morning,” he said, not making eye contact with Woojin.

“Sit down. I made pancakes and bacon for breakfast. Chan mentioned that it was your favorite as a kid,” he said with a smile before transferring some of the bacon in the pan onto a plate that was loaded up with pancakes and putting it on the table with a bottle of maple syrup. “Eat.”

Felix blinked in surprise at the older boy’s authoritativeness but complied nonetheless, sitting down in front of the plate, across from Chan. The elder still had not noticed him yet.

“What’s Chan doing?” Felix asked, picking up his fork.

Woojin joined him at the table with two plates of food in his hands; one for him and one for Chan. “He’s emailing JYP, the entertainment company he produces for. He isn’t going to make the deadline for a couple of tracks.” 

Felix grimaced internally as he felt a pang of guilt in his chest. He knew that Chan had to take a few days off work to deal with him but he hadn’t realized it put him this far behind.

Woojin, after putting his own plate on the table, aggressively shutting Chan’s laptop while he was typing- Chan retracting his hands- and put Chan’s plate on top of it. “Breakfast, love,” he said before Chan could curse him out for interrupting his work. “Also, your brother.”

Chan’s head snapped up to where Felix was sitting across from him, his eyes widening slightly.

“Oh, shit. Hey ‘Lix. How long have you been in here?”

“Hey, language,” Woojin scolded as he sat down.

Felix giggled slightly as his brother pouted at his boyfriend. “Not long. You really are dead to the world when you work, though.”

Chan smiled. “Yeah, it’s always been that way with me.” He ate a piece of bacon before continuing. “So, ‘Lix. We need to talk about what we’re going to do about school for you.”

Felix nodded. He knew Chan was either going to talk to him about this or fire and he was glad the older chose the former. He did not want to think about that night.

“You have two options: an international school, or a normal Korean school.”

“What’s the difference?” Felix asked, taking a bite out of a pancake.

“In an international school, your classmates will all be immigrants. Everything will be taught in English. A Korean school will be taught in Korean”

“Oh,” Felix said after swallowing. “Well, international would be the better option wouldn’t it?” he asked wearily. “Considering I don’t speak any Korean.”

“It would be,” Woojin began. “But seeing as you are going to be spending much of your considerable future in Korea, it might be a better idea to have you surrounded by the language early on.”

“When I moved here, the arts school I went to was entirely in Korean.” Chan put down his fork and looked directly at Felix. “To be honest with you, it sucked. It was awful not understanding ninety percent of what was going on around me, but I learned. It took time but I learned.”

Felix nodded, unsure of what to say.

“I think putting you into a Korean school would be the best option for you,” Chan said softly. “Also, a normal high school isn’t necessarily your only option.”

Both Felix and Woojin looked at him curiously, eyebrows furrowed.

“What do you mean?” Felix asked.

“Well, I went to an arts high school,” Chan replied, as though what he was implying was obvious.

“Yeah, but you had a talent for music. What would I do at an arts school?”

Chan raised an eyebrow at him, smirking slightly. “Do you mean to tell me, ‘Lixie, that you didn’t follow in my footsteps and go behind our parent’s backs to pursue something you were actually interested in?”

Felix's cheeks flushed pink and his eyes widened. He had been doing exactly that since he turned thirteen.

Felix always held high admiration for dance. He attended a few recitals and showcases of his friends when he was a kid and was absolutely enamored by the clean, precise moves of the older dancers. He started begging his dad to let him have lessons when he was eight but the businessman had always refused, saying that no son of his would partake in such a ‘girly’ activity. Felix stopped asking after his father had given him a black eye for it.

But just because he stopped asking did not mean Felix’s passion for it dulled. He excitedly watched the music videos his friends showed him at recess. Videos that he would have never been able to watch at home. He never cared about the music or the artist, just the dancers that went unnoticed by most in the background.

Nothing came of his desire to dance until he turned thirteen, though. He overheard some older kids talking about an underground hip-hop, street dancing scene they were apart of and Felix, ignoring the voice in his head screaming  _ don’t do this! Father will kill you! _ immediately asked them for more information. That night, after his father locked himself up in his study, Felix climbed out of his bedroom window and ran into the city, searching for the studio that the boys told him about.

He went back nearly every night after that for three years, spending hours upon hours learning different styles of dance from the older dancers. He perfected his dancing, staying there most nights until the sun came up. Seemingly overnight he became one of their best dancers. Everyone consistently praised his abilities and he was quickly able to outdance the very people who taught him how to in the first place. He was the best dancer they had. That was...until his father found him.

“Yeah…” Felix sighed, remembering the studio and his dance friends. “I did.”

Chan laughed. “I knew you did! What was it? Oh my God, it was dance wasn’t it! You were always begging father for lessons!”

Felix felt the burn in his cheeks spread to the rest of his face. “Yeah, it was dance,” He mumbled.

“Oh, this is fantastic! Do you think you’re any good?"

“Um, well, I don’t know. Everyone at the studio always said I was. They said I was the best dancer they had.”

Chan’s smile stretched to reach his eyes. “Woojinnie, call up Minho and tell him to reserve one of the rooms at the studio dances at. “We’re going to see just how good you are, ‘Lixie.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! I couldn't wait to post chapter two so here it is! I hope you enjoy!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: I was a dancer for 14 years and I cannot, for the life of me, figure out how to write a dance scene.
> 
> TW// Panic attacks

They arrived at the dance studio a little after noon. Minho sat on the concrete steps in front of the building, drinking from a water bottle. His shirt and bandana that kept his hair off his forehead were soaked through with sweat.

He jumped up when he saw them, his old battered sneakers skipping over the bottoms steps and landing on the concrete below. “Hello, Chan-hyung! Woojin-hyung! Kid I don’t know?” he greeted them in Korean, looking at Felix, confused.

“Hey, Minho!” Chan responded, smiling. “You look like you’ve been working hard. This is my brother Felix. He just moved here and doesn’t speak Korean yet.”

Minho nodded and turned to Felix. “Nice to meet you,” he said in heavily accented English. 

“You too,” Felix responded with a shy smile.

Minho directed his attention back to Chan. “So, Hyung, Woojin didn’t tell me why you wanted to meet here? I reserved the room but what are we doing?”

Chan grinned and slung his arm around Felix’s shoulder. “‘Lixie here says he’s a dancer but I’ve yet to see him dance. I figured, where else to have him dance than in front of the best dancer in Korea?” 

Minho laughed at Chan’s exaggerated compliment. “Thanks, Chan-hyung but you know I’m not the _ best, _ maybe a close second, though,” he winked.

Chan and Woojin both snorted at the joke.

“Anyways,” Minho continued, still smiling. “I’m always interested in seeing new talent, Hyung.”

Chan clapped his hands together and said “Great!” in English. He looked at Felix and summarized their conversation. “‘Lix, this is Minho, he’s the best dancer I know. You comfortable dancing for us?”

Felix gave him a nervous smile. “Yeah, sure thing Channie.” 

The apprehension in Felix’s voice made Chan hesitate a bit. He did not want to push Felix too fast too soon or force him into doing something he wasn’t comfortable with, but he really needed to find out just how good of a dancer he was. If he was as good as Chan hoped, then he might have a decent chance of getting him into the same high school he went to.

Chan decided to push his worry aside, hoping Felix would tell him if he was uncomfortable, and let Minho lead the four of them to an open studio. The building was large and had a number of different sized rooms, all filled with people rehearsing in them. 

When they got to the studio Minho reserved, Felix walked out to the center of the floor. Chan and Woojin leaned against the wall behind him and Minho walked over to the speakers in the corner and plugged in his phone.

“Any particular song?” He asked aloud in Korean, figuring Chan would translate.

“Is there a song you want, ‘Lix?” Chan asked him.

“No, just put on anything. I don’t have anything prepared… most of what I used to do was in groups. I’ll just improv,” Felix said, fidgeting with his fingers.

Chan told Minho Felix’s answer and the younger boy put on a hip hop song.

Felix’s fidgeting stopped instantly. A smirk appeared on his face as he crouched to the floor, bobbing his head to the beat of the music to get a feel for the song. Then, after an eight-count, Felix jumped up with more energy than Chan had seen him with since he arrived in Korea, and started dancing.

Chan’s mouth dropped open in shock as he watched his little brother dance. He figured that Felix would be a good dancer, but he did not think he would be _ this _good. 

The way Felix moved was incredulous. His body was fluid and flexible yet he somehow hit every beat with sharp precision. He had the grace of a ballet dancer but the power and style that comes from street dancing. He exuded energy, moving his arms and feet faster than Chan thought was possible. He utilized the entire space of the studio and was not afraid to get down on the floor or throw in the occasional flip. His facial expressions were constantly shifting, each one appropriate for every moment. He looked happy and playful at some moments and downright devilish at others. That combination confounded Chan; it should not work but somehow Felix made look perfect.

All too soon, the song ended and Felix dropped to the floor, panting. He turned to face the boys behind him who all looked at him wide eyes, raised eyebrows, and open mouths.

“I know that probably didn’t look great,” Felix started to ramble. “I’ve only been dancing a few years and I was never professionally taught so-”

He was cut off by Minho whose brain was finally catching up to him. “Holy shit!” he yelled. “Chan-hyung please tell me his joining our school, I want him on the dance team now.”

Chan was silent for a moment, still staring at Felix. He responded with a smirk, “After that performance? Yeah, he’s joining alright.”

* * *

Felix could feel his heart beating in his chest. It was fast- too fast for him to be comfortable with. He knew that part of that was due to the dance he just did but he knew it was mostly because Chan, Woojin, and Minho were all definitely talking about him in Korean and he had no idea what they were saying.

They were probably talking about how disappointed they were by his performance. Felix loved to dance, yes, but he was not a dancer. He was never trained properly, having learned everything from other dance-hungry teens like himself, and he knew half the dance moves he did looked ridiculous. Dancing was fun for him but he knew he wasn’t good enough to be able to make anything serious or professional of it.

Felix felt his hands begin to shake as he watched the older boys converse in front of him. Minho pointed at him and practically yelled something at Chan, his facial expression unreadable.

_ He’s probably mad a Chan for wasting his time with me. This was such a bad idea I just made him made I shouldn’t of come here I’m such a fuck-up I- _

He felt tears prick in his eyes as his breathing- already labored from the dance- started coming out in short, quick breaths. It felt like he couldn’t get any air in his lungs at all. Everything around him faded. He no longer heard the others talking about him in Korean. All he could hear was the pathetic attempt his lungs made to get air.

_ Can’t breathe can’t breathe why can’t I breathe- _

Suddenly, he heard his name being called out by Woojin who had noticed the younger boy’s distress.

“Felix, Felix, hey, it’s okay, you’re okay,” he said, making his way over to him, Chan and Minho close behind.

Chan kneeled next to him apprehensively. He locked eyes with Felix. “Breathe with me ‘Lix,” he began, placing Felix’s hand on his chest. Felix complied, trying to slow his breathing to match Chan’s. “In and out. Good, you’re doing so good, ‘Lixie.”

Felix managed to get his breathing back to normal soon after and finally looked at the faces next to him. They were all warped in concern and Felix felt guilty and embarrassed for being the one to cause it.

He looked at the ground. “I’m sorry-” he began.

“No, none of that,” Chan stated firmly, putting his hand under Felix’s chin and lifting his head up. “You did nothing wrong. I’m sorry I didn’t think to tell you what we thought of your dance before we started talking about you in Korean. I know how that feels. You probably thought we were saying something bad, right?” 

Felix blinked a few times in surprise, impressed with how quickly Chan figured out what was wrong, before nodding.

“We weren’t,” Woojin said sympathetically.

“You’re dance was insane ‘Lix. Like I don’t even have words in either language to describe what I just saw. I didn’t think you would be _ that _ good.”

“You- you thought I was good?” Felix asked, confused. He knew his dance wasn’t any good, why would they think it was?

“Yeah,” Minho responded, understanding the simple English question. “Really good.”

“Oh,” was all Felix could say. 

How could they think that was good with that lousy performance? They had to be lying. He was off on so many beats, he didn’t even know what he was doing for half the dance. It was terrible. No, they were just being nice to him because of his mental breakdown a minute ago. Yeah. They were just being nice.

Chan stood and held his hand out to Felix. “Come on. Let’s get you home.”

* * *

Chan did not like Felix’s reaction to them speaking in Korean. Not one bit. Being uncomfortable or upset about it was one thing, but having a full-blown panic attack? There was something wrong there and he needed to find out what it was, soon.

Chan sighed and sat on the couch next to Woojin, laptop in his hands. 

Felix had retreated to his room and shut the door the second they all got home. There was no noise so Chan hoped he was sleeping.

Chan opened his laptop and began searching for the website of his high school. He needed to find the director’s phone number to see if he would give Felix an audition.

Woojin looked up from the book he was reading and watched Chan. “Do you think they’ll give him an audition, Chan?” he asked. “They don’t normally do auditions in the summer for the upcoming year.”

Chan, having found the number, closed his laptop and pulled out his phone. “I’ll have to pull some strings but I think I can convince them. The director loves me, remember?”

Woojin gaped at Chan. “You’re going straight to the director rather than admissions? Is that a good idea?”

Chan shrugged. “It’s the best option we have. He always had a bit of a soft spot for me for some reason. Probably had something to do with me being the only English-speaking foreign kid. I think he felt bad.” Chan dialed the number and put the phone to his ear. Waiting for an answer he added, “If I tell him my also-foreign-brother is the best dancer I’ve ever seen he’s bound to at least give him audition.”

_ “Hello, this is the director of Seoul School of Arts. Who is calling?” _

“Hello, Director-nim! It’s Bang Chan. I used to be a student. I graduated a year ago.”

_ “Ah yes, Christopher, wasn’t it? To what do I owe your call?” _

Chan smiled at the use of his English name. The director asked when he first moved if he preferred his English or Korean name. When Chan answered English, the man made an effort to call him Christopher. “Well, sir, my brother Felix has recently moved in with me from Australia. He’s sixteen and an incredible dancer. I was wondering if you could give him an audition?”

_ “It’s a little late in the season for auditions, Chris…. But, you always did have an eye for talent. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to at least see the boy.” _ The director paused for a moment. “ _ How does noon one week from now sound?” _

Chan blinked a few times, surprised at how quickly the Director agreed. He expected to have to convince him to give Felix an audition. “That sounds great, thank you, sir.”

_ “Well, then I will see you two then. Have a nice day, Christopher.” _He hung up.

Chan looked at Woojin with a smile on his face. “That was easier than I thought it would be.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've discovered that my plan of updating weekly will most likely not happen for this fic because of my schedule. I'll update whenever I can, hopefully twice a month.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading the first chapter! The next one is like 3 times as long lol. Constructive criticism is welcomed!


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